"When Redundancy Makes You Think Differently"

For one person, redundancy becomes panic. For another, it becomes possibility. And sometimes it becomes both at the exact same time.

Ever since COVID, I have noticed something interesting. A lot of people now think differently about work and life. People still want good careers and financial security. But at the same time, many people are also thinking about working for themselves, building a second income, consulting, entrepreneurship and creating something of their own one day.

Recently, I had a conversation with someone whose career I have observed over the years. After six years with the same company, she was made redundant. And within weeks, her husband, working for a completely different company, found himself in a very similar situation.

What made this conversation refreshing though was that while there was naturally some nervousness, most of the conversation was not about fear. It was about possibility. Starting a consultancy. Building something independently. Taking control of her own future.

When people are deeply involved in employment, especially in senior positions, most of their mental energy goes towards improving systems, reducing costs, solving problems and growing somebody else’s business. Very little mental space is left for themselves. Sometimes thoughts around entrepreneurship are sitting quietly in the background — but comfort and routine keep those thoughts small. Then suddenly redundancy happens.

And while financially and emotionally it can absolutely be stressful, it can also create something else: mental clarity. The mind that was once fully focused on building somebody else’s future suddenly starts thinking about its own future instead.

Of course redundancy is not positive for everyone. For many people it can be emotionally and financially devastating. But for some people, in certain stages of life, it can also become the unexpected push that changes the direction of their future completely.

Maybe that is the real complexity of redundancy. For one person, it becomes panic. For another, it becomes possibility. And sometimes — it becomes both at the exact same time.

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